Ethnically Ambiguous - grade school

Ethnic \Eth"nic\, Belonging to races or nations; based on distinctions of race; ethnological. [1913 Webster]

Ambiguous \Am*big"u*ous\, Doubtful or uncertain, particularly in respect to signification; capable of being understood in either of two or more possible senses; equivocal; as, an ambiguous course; an ambiguous expression. [1913 Webster]

Yes, that is me... a pirate, mutt, mixed kid. I was born in 1976 to a Black, Irish, English, Cherokee mom and a Chinese, Black, German dad. My mom had a copper afro and freckles, my dad had a black afro and didn't look Chinese. From that mix you get me, a not quite enough of anything human being desperately looking to fit in somewhere. You see I don't really look like "anything" my hair is kinda coarse but it's not kinky, I have big brown Anglo eyes, I'm kinda orange, I don't really look "white", I sure as hell don't look Chinese and can't even pass as high yellow. But my father's sister looks blasian (brown & asian), my whole mother's side ranges from white to blurple. 

And then there's me.

Growing up as a hybrid before it was fashionable and without the distinct Black/Asian/Native Indian good looks ...

At my first grade school St. Patrick's, I was the only non-Irish/Italian aside from the Greek girl but unlike me she was still "White" enough to fit in. I remember being teased for having a Chinese name but not looking Chinese, and not really having any friends because I didn't have anything in common with anyone. I lived in the Coney island projects, all the people I knew were Black or Latino and I guess I just couldn't relate to semi-suburban Brooklyn kids who lived in houses, parents were in PTA and had distinct ethnic traditions.

At my 2nd grade school St. Thomas Aquinas, I was the only non-Irish/Italian aside from the mulatto kid Anthony that started at the same time I did. He was tall athletic and brown. I was chunky, non-athletic and neither white nor brown. There was a mystique about Anthony he was visibly different but essentially white, (he lived on my block and he and his sister were adopted by a really nice white couple) with me I was just different enough to not fit in and essentially black, which did not translate too well at the time. (basically I was not ghetto or brown enough to be interesting, just orange) During my 2nd year at STA a few more black people joined the ranks but they were West Indian, which translates into brown skin but not American Black. So while I was never fully accepted by my West Indian counter parts, I still had more in common and could at least superficially be friends.

At my 3rd and final grade school the mix was a little better, there were I think 3 Asians, 1 West Indian kid and you guessed it the majority of the rest were Irish/Italian/Greek/Polish. I still had nothing in common with the White kids, and they showed no interest in me because once again I was just different enough to be cast aside. The West Indian kid was a guy and since I wasn't "cute" there was nothing there. Which left the Asians, 1 guy see previous statement and 2 girls who I did have a bit of a friendship with.  While I couldn't speak Chinese I did have a Chinese last name and knew what "breakfast food was" liked Asian cartoons and cute things with big eyes. However nothing really stuck because I lived in a Black neighborhood and they lived in an Asian/White neighborhood.  

After typing that last sentence I think that's part of why I never felt like I fit in anywhere, my parents trying to do their best by me always put me into predominantly White schools where even if I could forge a friendship they couldn't grow past the classroom due to proximity.

to be continued...